By
Jeff Lund
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Men's, women's teams finish 3rd at Pac-10 Championships
Junior Tara Chaplin won the Pacific 10 Conference Women's Cross Country Championship in record time, and both men's and women's teams finished third at the conference championships in Seattle on Saturday.
"Both teams ran very well," UA head coach Dave Murray said "In a conference loaded with national talent, I think we just ran exceptionally well."
Junior Tara Chaplin broke the course record by 39 seconds en route to the Pac-10 title.
While Chaplin and Arizona's State's Lisa Aguilera separated from the rest of the field during the middle of the race, the junior would not be beat.
Chaplin managed to finish strong and beat out Aguilera, who finished second overall.
"In the last 400 meters, (Chaplin) just blew away the field," Murray said.
The race was more than just another victory for Chaplin.
"It is really exciting," Chaplin said. "I have never won anything before in cross country, just small invitationals. I just wanted to have a solid race."
This is the second Pac-10 title of Chaplin's career - in 1999, the junior won the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships in the 5,000m race.
Despite being sick this past week and not practicing much of the time, senior Katrin Engelen ran a solid race and finished eighth overall.
On the men's side, senior Tom Prindiville placed fifth overall and was the top finisher for the men.
Four Wildcat men placed among the race's top 13 runners as UA finished just four points behind second-place Oregon.
"I am really happy with my race," Prindiville said. "The team ran strong, especially the top four."
The Wildcats will now take the week off and look forward to the West Regional, which will take place in Fresno, Calif. The top two teams will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Meet on Nov. 20 in Ames, Iowa.
"We have a shot at the automatic bid," Murray said. "There is no question if we place 3rd to 6th on either side men's or women's that we have a shot at being selected to the National Championship because of our tough region."
